Unitary foldable laminar blank for the manufacture of containers useful as toy football helmets

ABSTRACT

A unitary, foldable, laminar blank for the manufacture of containers and toy football helmets, comprising bottom, front, rear and side walls; wherein the blank includes a laminar structure having fold lines and cut lines which define a central body having diametrically opposite thereof two tapering integral portions which ends in small coupling tabs; normally disposed to said tapering portions, other diametrically opposite sides of the central body are integral with lateral laminar sections which will form the side walls of the container and helmet, whereby is formed a laminar and cruciform structure, which is foldable, in which said lateral portions in turn include on each side of them, curved fold lines from which there extend foldable portions with straight edges at one of their ends, and with the other end curved and enlarged forming an edge which almost touches said tapered portions of said central body, said foldable portions having a shape practically similar to that of said tapered portions of the central body; the foldable laminar portions which continue beyond the fold lines of the lateral portions of the cruciform structure include slots and tabs which can be engaged and which register with the identical opposite portion.

Holschneider Nov. 4, 1975 UNITARY FOLDABLE LAMINAR BLANK FOR THEMANUFACTURE OF CONTAINERS USEFUL AS TOY FOOTBALL HELMETS [76] Inventor:Felipe Holschneider, Monte Altai 413, Mexico 10, D. F., Mexico [22]Filed: May 28, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 473,473

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 1, 1974 Mexico 149614 [52]US. Cl 229/8; 46/157; 46/1 L [51] Int. Cl. B65D 3/00; B65D 5/00 [58]Field of Search 46/1 F, l L, 157; 229/8 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,438,083 12/1922 Baker 46/157 2,063,561 12/1936 S0fo....46/157 UX 2,170,953 8/1939 Spots 229/8 UX 2,823,844 2/1958 Frankenstein229/8 3,212,214 10/1965 Patterson 46/157 3,224,660 12/1965 Willis et al229/8 3,439,444 4/1969 Smith 46/1 L Primary Examiner-Davis T. MoorheadAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Ladas, Parry, Von Gehr, Goldsmith & Deschamps[57] ABSTRACT A unitary, foldable, laminar blank for the manufacture ofcontainers and toy football helmets, comprising bottom, front, rear andside walls; wherein the blank includes a laminar structure having foldlines and cut lines which define a central body having diametricallyopposite thereof two tapering integral portions which ends in smallcoupling tabs; normally disposed to said tapering portions, otherdiametrically opposite sides of the central body are integral withlateral laminar sections which will form the side walls of the containerand helmet, whereby is formed a laminar and cruciform structure, whichis foldable, in which said lateral portions in turn include on each sideof them, curved fold lines from which there extend foldable portionswith straight edges at one of their ends, and with the other end curvedand enlarged forming an edge which almost touches said tapered portionsof said, central body, said foldable portions having a shape practicallysimilar to that of said tapered portions of the central body; thefoldable laminar portions which continue beyond the fold lines of thelateral portions of the cruciform structure include slots and tabs whichcan be engaged and which register with the identical opposite portion.

2 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures Sheet 1 of 4 U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet2 0f 4 US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 US. Patent -Nov.'4, 1975 Sheet 3 of43,917,153

U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet4 0M 3,917,153

UNITARY FOLDABLE LAMINAR BLANK FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CONTAINERS USEFULAS TOY FOOTBALL HELMETS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrefers in general terms to foldable laminar blanks for the manufactureof containers, and more particularly it concerns to a unitary laminarblank which when assembled provides a novel container that can also beused as a toy football helmet or the like.

Up to the present time, foldable laminar blanks for the manufacture ofcontainers of the kind which hold food, such as popcorn, potato chipsand the like have been composed of panels or foldable portions whichwhen assembled always provide a geometric body of the box type, whichcannot be utilized for any further purpose than that of container.

Normally these containers are printed with a promotional message in theoutside faces of same; however they are discarded by the user once theyhave served their purpose and their contents have been consumedfinishing also with the promotion message.

This type of foldable laminar blank for the manufacture of containers upto the present time has been limited by the impossibility of producing acontainer having aerodynamic curved lines which would for example allowit, after fulfilling its function as a container, to be used as a toyand particularly as a football helmet or the like. I

Considering this double utilization of the invention as a container andas a helmet the product would become cheaper, since the same articlewould have two different applications or uses, one following the other,and thus simultaneously the promotional impact of such containers wouldbe increased since the advertising printed thereon would function over alonger period of time than of a mere container.

Another drawback of containers used up to the present time, manufacturedfrom foldable laminar blanks, in relation with the invention is thatnormally they are composed of more than a single piece, something whichimplies higher production costs because of the difficulty of assemblingand printing the several structures.

A further drawback found in the already known containers of this type isthat for assembly, they require staples, adhesive or similar means forholding together the bottom and side walls thereof.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION In view of all the foregoing, it is anobject ofthis in vention to provide a unitary foldable laminar blank which, onceassembled, constitutes a container with bottom and side walls in theinterior of which foods such as popcorn, potato chips and the like canbe placed, and which, once the articles therein contained are consumed,can further serve the user as a toy helmet and particularly as afootball helmet or the like.

Another object of this invention is to provide a single piece foldablelaminar blank which does not require for its assembly special holdingmeans such as adhesives, staples or the like, and which by includingcurve cut and folding lines and tabs produces once assembled astreamlined container which can after its use as a container be placedon a users head as a toy helmet.

The single piece foldable laminar blank of the present inventionincludes lines for folding and curved cut lines, providing slots andtabs permitting the easy assembly of the structure, and producing acontainer with bottom, front, back ans side walls without a top wall,which after being used as a container can be used as a toy footballhelmet or the like.

The foldable laminar blank comprises lateral portions having curvedshapes which extend in diametrically opposite directions from a centralportion which tapers toward both ends and which ends in tabs forinsertion which are enlarged in their respective middle portions.

Each of said lateral portions in turn has on both its sides, projectionsjoined by curved lines for holding, which projections extendrespectively toward the tapered center end portions and increase insize, and in parts said projections reach almost to the said centerportion. These said projections which extend on each side of the saidlateral portions upon folding are overlaped one upon the other beneatheach of the corresponding tapered ends of the central portion, and thusconstitute respectively the front and rear walls of the container or thehelmet, said front and rear walls thus being made up of three layers.The wider parts of these portions which extend to each side of thelateral portions have certain slits, forming a window iri one of them,into which is inserted a tab formed at the other lateral portion withcorresponding cuts forming said tab with a line of fold that providessaid tab substantially the same dimension as the window. The foregoingdisposition permits of securing the attachment of these portions whenthey are overlaped, which make up the front and rear walls of thecontainer or helmet, and which internally extend to part of the upperwall of the helmet or to part of the bottom of the container, in acurving manner. 7

Near the slits and tabs above referred to, each one of the portionswhich extend out from the lateral walls has a corresponding window orslot which when folded register forming a receiver slot which allows theeasy attachment of each one of the end tabs of the tapered,

portions of the central portion of the laminar blank, whereby uponrolling or enveloping the said tapered portions around said alreadyoverlaped portions a triple layer front and rear walls of the helmet orcontainer are formed.

In oneembodiment of the invention it is included as an aditional featurean insertable laminar structure shaped as a nose protecting frame to thehelmet and which serves as handle to the container.

These and other objects to be realized in the practice of the presentinvention will be more fully understood and perceived upon reading thefollowing description which refers to the accompanying drawings of thepreferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I, is an unfolded plan view ofthe unitary foldable laminar blank of the present invention formanufacture of containers which later will be used as my footballhelmets or the like.

FIG. 2, is a frontal vertical elevational view of the helmet orcontainer which is produced when the foldable laminar blank illustratedin FIG. I is assembled;

FIG. 3, is a longitudinal sectional view of the helmet or containerillustrated in FIG. 2. s

FIG. 4, is a bottom view of the helmet or container illustrated in FIGS.2 and 3.

FIG. 5, is a conventional perspective view which illustrates the helmetor container as manufactured, which is shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

FIG. 6, is a detail view in elevation illustrating the manner ofassembly of the blank forming the front and rear portion of the helmetshown in FIGS. 2 to 5.

FIG. 7, is a cross-sectional view along 7 7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8, is a frontal vertical elevational view similar to that of FIG.1, but including a laminar structure inserted shaped as a noseprotecting frame for the helmet which serves as handle to the container.

FIG. 9, is a fragmentary side elevational view of the inventionembodiment shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10, is a detail plan view of the insertable laminar structureconstituting the handle of the container shaped as a nose protectingframe for the helmet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings,foldable laminar blank 11 of the present invention includes a centralportion 12, tapered toward its ends which will constitute when foldedthe outside part of the front wall 13 and of the rear wall 14; on eachside of the central portion 12, there extend lateral portions 15, thusforming practi' cally a cruciform blank. These lateral portions 15,include fold lines 16 in the form of circle portions which when reachnear to central portion 12 constitute cut lines 17. Said lateral walls15 continue to each side thereof, beyond fold lines 16 into portions 18and 19 which include curved cut edges 20 which almost touch taperedportions 13 and 14 of central portion 12.

These said portions 18 and 19 on their edges include,

' in one of them an indentation or cut 21 and in the other a pair ofcuts 22 and a fold line 23, thus constituting tab 24 which can beintroduced into said indentation 2] of opposite portion 18 or 19.

Near the edge of indentation 21 and tab 24, these said portions 18 and19 include respectivelly a slot 25 and a corresponding slot 26, formingwhen portions 18 and 19 are overlapped a sort of buttonhole asillustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, into which is inserted an end tab 29,which extends from tapered portions 13 and 14, and fold line of theselatter two portions overlapping the straight edge 31 of each of portions18 or 19. When portions 13 and 14 are enveloping the double wall ofoverlaped portions 18 and 19, they form either the front portion of thehelmet or containeror else the rear portion of same.

Lateral walls 15 include a curved projection 32 and may include aperforation 33 so that when assembled they resemble the ear pads of thehelmet, and in addition permit easy handling of the helmet or of thecontainer so formed. Tapered portions 13 and 14 can also be described asstraps which envelope overlaping portions 18 and 19, respectively, toform the front wall of the helmet or container.

Once the helmet or container is assembled, it may hold in its interior abag of edible material such as popcorn, french fries, etc., and on itsoutside carry printed advertising material or the like whereby when ithas completed its function as a container it can be used as a toyfootball helmet or the like, or it can be given to the article either ofthese uses independently.

As will be appreciated in the drawings, in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5, theouter edges 34 of the helmet and corners 35 thereof are rounded and giveit an aerodynamic appearance, which heretofore had not been achieved incontainers or similar articles.

In FIGS. 8 10 it is shown an embodiment of the invention wherein it isincluded a laminar structure 36,

constituted by a strap with slots 37 having its ends 38 enlarged forbeing inserted and anchored into lateral l cuts 39 practiced in the sidewalls 15 of the helmet. This laminar structure is added to the helmet inorder to resemble the nose protecting device ofa football helmet and itis useful as handle to the container.

Although the foregoing description has been directed to an specificembodiment of the invention, it will .be understood by all personsskilled in the art that any modification in form and detail will bewithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A unitary laminar blank of flexible material adapted to bemanipulated to form an open container for holding consumer goods such asfood and which can also be used as a toy football helmet, having thefollowing combination of features:

a. the periphery of the blank is cut to provide a cruciform arrangement,comprising a central portion (12) having two opposite tapered extensions(13,14) and two opposite lateral portions (15);

b. said tapered extensions (13,14) each have a cou-' pling tab (29)projecting therefrom and each is foldable about a fold line(30)perpendicular to the axis of the extension;

being foldable about curved fold lines (16) at the bases thereof; d.each lateral portion (15) also has a side extension (19) at the oppositeside thereof adjacent a side edge of the other tapered extension (14),said side extension (19) being foldable about curved fold lines,(l6) atthe bases'thereof;

e. one of the extensions (18) and one of the side extensions (19) hasanindentation (21) at the outer edge thereof; I

f. the other side extension (18) and the other side extension (19) eachhas a connecting tab ('24) at the outer edge thereof, formed by cuts(22) and corresponding in location to the indentations (21); and

g. each side extension (18) and each side extension (19) has a slot (25,26) adjacent a corresponding indentation (21) or tab (24), the slots(25, 26) in side extensions (18) being equidistant from the axis oftapered extension (13) and the slots (25, 26) in side extensions (19)being equidistant from the axis of tapered extension (14); whereby, toform the container or helmet, the side extensions (18, 19) and thecoupling tabs (29) are folded along their fold lines into substantiallyperpendicular position with respect to the central portion (12) of theblank, the two lateral portions (15) are bent towards each other to forma rounded configuration at the bends and to effect overlapping of foldedside extensions (l8) and overlapping of folded side extensions (19), theindentations (21) and connecting tabs (24) in the side extensions (18,19) are respectively latched together causing registration of therespective slots (25, 26), the two tapered, extensions (l3, 14) are benttoward each other to form a rounded configuration at portion has a slit(39) therein and a separate strap member (36) is provided having ends(38) adapted for insertion in the slits (39), whereby said strap memberserves as a handle for the container or a nose protector for the toyhelmet.

1. A unitary laminar blank of flexible material adapted to bemanipulated to form an open container for holding consumer goods such asfood and which can also be used as a toy football helmet, having thefollowing combination of features: a. the periphery of the blank is cutto provide a cruciform arrangement, comprising a central portion (12)having two opposite tapered extensions (13,14) and two opposite lateralportions (15); b. said tapered extensions (13,14) each have a couplingtab (29) projecting therefrom and each is foldable about a fold line(30) perpendicular to the axis of the extension; c. each lateral portion(15) has a side extension (18) at one side thereof adjacent a side edgeof one tapered extension (13), said side extension (18) being foldableabout curved fold lines (16) at the bases thereof; d. each lateralportion (15) also has a side extension (19) at the opposite side thereofadjacent a side edge of the other tapered extension (14), said sideextension (19) being foldable about curved fold lines (16) at the basesthereof; e. one of the extensions (18) and one of the side extensions(19) has an indentation (21) at the outer edge thereof; f. the otherside extension (18) and the other side extension (19) each has aconnecting tab (24) at the outer edge thereof, formed by cuts (22) andcorresponding in location to the indentations (21); and g. each sideextension (18) and each side extension (19) has a slot (25, 26) adjacenta corresponding indentation (21) or tab (24), the slots (25, 26) in sideextensions (18) being equidistant from the axis of tapered extension(13) and the slots (25, 26) in side extensions (19) being equidistantfrom the axis of tapered extension (14); whereby, to form the containeror helmet, the side extensions (18, 19) and the coupling tabs (29) arefolded along their fold lines into substantially perpendicular positionwith respect to the central portion (12) of the blank, the two lateralportions (15) are bent towards each other to form a roundedconfiguration at the bends and to effect overlapping of folded sideextensions (18) and overlapping of folded side extensions (19), theindentations (21) and connecting tabs (24) in the side extensions (18,19) are respectively latched together causing registration of therespective slots (25, 26), the two tapered extensions (13, 14) are benttoward each other to form a rounded configuration at the bends, and thetwo coupling tabs (29) are then inserted into the correspondingregistered slots (25, 26) to maintain the bent and folded portions ofthe blank in position with the central portion (12) forming the bottomof the container or the top of the helmet.
 2. A blank according to claim1 in which each lateral portion has a slit (39) therein and a separatestrap member (36) is provided having ends (38) adapted for insertion inthe slits (39), whereby said strap member serves as a handle for thecontainer or a nose protector for the toy helmet.